Jazz Fans Pack Parking Lot Outside Delta Center

June 05, 1998|By John Husar, Tribune Staff Writer.

SALT LAKE CITY — By game's end, when the Jazz finally had put away the Bulls, maybe 1,200 loyal and hardy souls still were in the parking lot across the street from the Delta Center on Wednesday night, shouting as if the players inside could hear them.

They were the rain-drenched remnant of an original crowd of 10,000 that came from as far away as Idaho to mill outside the arena and watch the game on a giant TV screen.

"Since we can't get in, this is the next best thing," said Doug Holbrook, sitting on a blanket with his daughters, aged 8 and 12.

The crowd began to form as early as 7:30 a.m.--12 hours before game time. Brothers Sam and Kyle McAdams arrived with two of the seediest old couches ever seen and plunked them in front of the TV screen.

"We got them at Deseret Industries (a local thrift store) for $15 and $7," said Sam, a student at Brigham Young University, his face painted in blue and purple Jazz colors. "We also spread out some blankets. About 30 friends will be here."

Eleven food tents sold everything from ice cream concoctions and blended fruit juices to creatively colored breads, whole pizzas and Mexican food. A local TV station installed 32 portable toilets, as well as the height of civility--a pair of sinks with soap and eight water faucets. At some portable baskets in a corner of the lot, free throw shooting contests persisted throughout the game.

With thunderstorms expected, the turnout was far below an estimated 15,000 who similarly gathered during last year's NBA Finals. Yet, spirits remained high, even giddy in anticipation of the home team's revenge of last year's disappointment--at least until sheets of cold and windy rain laced with sleet drove away thousands of revelers lightly dressed in shorts and tank tops.

People had brought wagons laden with lawn chairs, blankets and coolers. Baby carriages were everywhere.

Some took shelter in a nearby parking garage, where a pair of clowns continued to make balloon hats for youngsters. Those who brought umbrellas or slickers stayed put, while others wrapped their blankets around them and moved closer to the screen.

A few people had the temerity to wear Bulls shirts, including Althea King, a transplant from Bolingbrook.

"Nobody really says anything," she reported. "Well, maybe a little."

Even when winds bent trees and dark clouds scudded from the Great Salt Lake, people held out as long as they could.

"This proves that even ice cream can be sold in a thunderstorm," exulted vendor Scott Wood of Ogden.

"Only in America," added his brother, Stan.

Clustered at the door of a parking garage, 15 people of all walks and ages refused to succumb.

"Heck, I can't even read the score from here," one fellow observed.

"None of us can, but who cares?" said another.

Most seemed to agree the outpouring of people--especially those who stayed to the end--represented the height of an indomitable American spirit.

"We're here to feel good and we want to share the moment with others who feel the same way," said one.